The Three Sisters Springs are blue oases of clear and pristine water in an area that has rapidly become foul with pollution, run-off, exotics, and algae blooms.

Three Sisters Springs is a complex of three spring areas, with many vents and sand boils that help feed Kings Bay, the headwaters of Crystal River in Citrus County, Florida. These springs also constitute one of the most important natural warm-water refuges for the endangered Florida manatee.

Three Sisters Springs is an important warm water refuge for endangered manatees. (Photo © David R. Schrichte.)

Kings Bay and the Three Sisters Springs also attract large numbers of boaters, recreational divers, snorkelers, and swimmers, many of whom seek out manatees for a close viewing experience. The influx of visitors, primarily there to see manatees, provides a major economic impact to the Crystal River community.

The mouth of the Three Sisters run is blocked by concrete posts to prevent boat access; only swimmers, canoers, and kayakers can enter. The land around the springs is private and posted and much of it has been extensively dredged to allow homes to be built along the channels and have access to King�s Bay.

At one time, Three Sisters Springs was used by Jacques Cousteau to help rehabilitate "Sewer Sam," a manatee named after he became trapped in a Miami sewer system and was subsequently rescued. Cousteau and his crew and volunteers kept Sam in Three Sisters Springs until the manatee was acclimated to the area. Upon release, Sewer Sam swam out into Kings Bay, where he joined the other manatees gathering there.

Kayakers travel through the entrance to Three Sisters Springs. (Photo courtesy Matt Clemons.)

In the 1980s, the then owner of the property known as Three Sisters Springs decided to fill the hardwood swamp that spread out from the Three Sisters Springs and the adjacent Idiot�s Delight and Magnolia Springs. The owner brought in a huge drag line and spent more than a year digging a 15-acre, 40-foot deep borrow pit. Dirt from this borrow pit, now called Lake Linda, was used to fill the adjacent hardwood swamp, burying trees and vegetation, filling the area one to two feet higher, and obliterating the much-needed filtering action of the entombed swamp.

The current owners of Three Sisters Springs property have plans to develop the 57 acres of land adjacent to the Three Sisters Springs second magnitude springs and Magnolia Springs first magnitude springs. This development would entail residences and multi-family residences as well as the potential removal of �spring water� to be bottled from the borrow pit dug in the 1980s. The owner initially sought a permit to extract 1.2 million gallons per day. The request was later reduced to 426,000 gallons per day, and the owner is considering building a bottling company near the site. As of February 2003, the landowner was allowed by the Southwest Florida Water Management District to withdraw up to 100,000 gallons per day, and water had to be pumped from a site away from the spring.

An aerial view of the Three Sisters Springs property. (Photo courtesy Tracy Colson.)

These same owners have also stated that they would be willing to sell the property for the right price and, in particular, are looking for it to be managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge was initially established solely for the protection of the Florida manatee.

The 2000 Florida Springs book states that priority should be given �to the acquisition of springs that cannot be adequately protected and managed by the current owner or at risk of being developed.� These recommendations are as valid today as when the report was written in 2000.

The Three Sisters Springs property is in danger of being developed and land acquisition of the springs and vulnerable parts of the spring basin remains the single most important protection strategy.